Last month I spent an entire day with young figure skaters Lee Royer, 11, and Kyra Gregory, 10, who hope to one day compete in the Olympics as an ice dance team. I was amazed at how little I knew about this sport. First off, and most surprising, it is one of the most expensive sports. Ice time, coaches, and costumes add up to tens of thousands of dollars every year. These kids wake up around 4:45am six day a week so they can practice before school and then after school they practice more. You know what I did when I was 10?…. nothing! These kids were so inspiring and wonderful to follow. Enjoy!
Same pictures new year This was my second year shooting the birki and of course I took some photos the same as last year.
Icicles hang from Herb Stark’s face after completing the 31 kilometre Edmonton Journal Tour event during the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival which started at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and ended at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on February 13, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Competitors take off in the 31 kilometre Edmonton Journal Tour event during the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival which started at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and ended at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on February 13, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Competitors take off in the 55 kilometre event during the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival which started at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and ended at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on February 13, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Graeme Nishikawa from Whitehorse, Yukon, left, wins the 55-kilometre event followed by Ian Murray from Canmore, Alta. beside him during the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival which started at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and ended at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on February 13, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
MaryAnne Rintoul holds up a metal that her grandmother won for competing in the Birkebeiner race in Norway over 90 years ago during the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival which started at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and ended at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, 35 kilometres east of Edmonton on February 13, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Posted by ryanjackson on Feb 5, 2010 in photos, video
1,200 students, staff and faculty at the University of Alberta unofficially smash the Guinness World Record for most players in a single dodgeball game at the Universiade Pavilion better known as “The Butterdome” in Edmonton, Alta. on February 5, 2010. The former record was 450. The event was organized by the U of A students’ union. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
This is the second of three blog posts on the Art Gallery of Alberta supplement that I worked on.
Click on the image above to go to the Interactive Tour page. The amazingly talented Donald Allen at The Journal did all the Flash code for this and I did all of the 360-panoramas. I shot almost all of the panoramas with a Canon 1D Mark-III camera and a Peleng 8mm fisheye lens. I’m going to need to go back and re-shoot many of the panoramas as construction was still underway when I made these.
Here are some of my favorite still images I shot over the last month. The night ones were shot from the roof of a nearby office building with a Canon 5D, 24-105L, and a tripod.
AGA employees and their friends and family walk through the new Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on January 9, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
A view inside the new Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on January 26, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
The National Post also ran my photos front page and did a nice spread on the inside.
Posted by ryanjackson on Feb 1, 2010 in lighting, photos
This is the first of three blog posts I’m going to make about working on the Art Gallery of Alberta supplement.
For the last six weeks I was off the normal photo schedule at The Journal and put on the Art Gallery of Alberta project. On Sunday the new gallery opened up to the public and last Thursday we had a 36-page supplement in the paper as well as a big online feature.
My favorite thing to shoot is portraits so I went to town with this one. It was exciting to have a new building with interesting architecture to shoot in. Here are my favorites.
Art Gallery of Alberta Executive Director Gilles Hebert poses for a photo in the new Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on December 1, 2009. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal). Shot with a Canon 5D, 16-35L @ 31mm. 580EX flash into an O-Flash ring flash. F4, ISO400.
Shot with a Canon 5D and a 75mm DIY Tilt-Shift lens. One 550EX flash to the back left with a snoot on, Lastolite EzyBox softbox and a 550EX to the right. 1/200sec, f2.8, ISO50.
Art Gallery of Alberta Curator Catherine Crowston poses for a photo in the new Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on December 1, 2009. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal). Canon 5D, Canon 24mm f1.4 lens at f1.8, 1/60sec, ISO640. Available light.
Allan Scott, Chair of the AGA Board poses for a photo in the new Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton on December 1, 2009. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal). Canon 5D, ISO100, 1/160sec. Canon 50mm f1.4 lens at f5.6. Canon 550EX into a Lastolite Ezybox to the front right and a 550EX with a snoot on it to the back right.
Cool thing about this image is that the AGA has it framed and hanging in a boardroom dedicated to Allan Scott which means I now have a photograph in the Art Gallery of Alberta pernament collection!
Randall Stout, architect of the new Art Gallery of Alberta poses for a photo in front of the gallery in down town Edmonton on December 3, 2009. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
For this image I wanted to go all artsy so I shot it with my 1950’s-era Yashica D twin-lens medium format camera. I had a 24×36″ softbox to the left with a White Lightning strobe and a 40×60″ relector to the right. I shot on Kodak T-Max and develeoped it myself in the Journal’s old darkroom and then scanned it.
Is this image any better because I used all that gear and film? Nope! But it was a lot of fun trying to do something different and that’s the best part of my job!
Friday night was an opportunity for me and Greg Southam’s MacEwan University photography students to shoot some basketball for their sports action assignment.
I was surprised to see that almost all of the students shot Nikon. When I went to Loyalist it was the other way around. Nikon has really come a long way since then in quality and price.
Here are some of my favorite photos from Friday night. Enjoy!
Brandon University Bobcats’ Melanie Thompson makes a shot on the University of Alberta Pandas’ net during their match at the U of A Main Gym in Edmonton, Alta. on January 29, 2009. Pandas won 87-39. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
Brandon University Bobcats’ Chantel Gaslard, left, and University of Alberta Pandas’ Josephine Peacock fight for the ball during their match at the U of A Main Gym in Edmonton, Alta. on January 29, 2009. Pandas won 87-39. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
University of Alberta Pandas’ Caitlin Stiksma, left, and Brandon University Bobcats’ Jayla Bousquet fight for the ball during their match at the U of A Main Gym in Edmonton, Alta. on January 29, 2009. Pandas won 87-39. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
University of Alberta Golden Bears’ Harvey Bradford goes for the net during a match against the Brandon University Bobcats at the U of A Main Gym in Edmonton, Alta. on January 29, 2009. The Bobcats won 88-85. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
University of Alberta Golden Bears’ Harvey Bradford tries to get through Brandon University Bobcats’ Dany Charlery, left, and Martin Lawrence during their match at the U of A Main Gym in Edmonton, Alta. on January 29, 2009. The Bobcats won 88-85. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
A member of Junior Level 3 division Alberta Cheer Empire during the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Members of Premier Cheer Red Deer Mini Large division perform during the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Seven-year-old Mackenzie Knox with Alberta Cheer Empire Mini Large Division performs at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Members of Premier Cheer Edmonton Senior Level 2 team perform at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Cheering for the Cheerleaders — Premier Cheer Edmonton Youth Level 2 coaches (left to right) Kayla Tingley, Meghan Bateup, Meagan Tracey, Gillian Degroot and Paige cheer on their team during the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Members of Premier Cheer Red Deer Youth Level 2 division have a pep talk before performing at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Members of Premier Cheer Red Deer Youth Level 2 division run out to perform at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Nine-year-old Jaide Millington with Alberta Cheer Empire Youth Level 2 division waits to hear results after performing at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Alberta Cheer Empire Youth Level 2 division celebrates winning 1st place after performing at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Alberta Cheer Empire Youth Level 2 division celebrates winning 1st place after performing at the Alberta Cheerleading Association’s Premier Cheer Challenge at Northlands AgriCom in Edmonton on January 30, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Robert McKay, 13, of the Swat Ice Hawks peewee hockey team prepares for his gold metal game against the Knights of Columbus Shock in his home in Edmonton on January 23, 2010 for Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. Ice Hawks won 5-2. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Robert slaps a few pucks in his basement as part of his regular routine before going to compete.
Coach Ken LeBlanc of the Swat Ice Hawks gives a pep talk to his team.
Robert celebrates scoring a goal in the first 10-seconds of the game.
Robert celebrates scoring his second goal of the game.
Swat Ice Hawks Robert McKay’s parents Peter Toth and Kathy McKay cheer on their son.
The Swat Ice Hawks celebrate their 5-2 victory over the Knights of Columbus Shock for the gold metal peewee zaozirny game at Kinsmen Arena in Edmonton on January 23, 2010 for Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Swat Ice Hawks Robert McKay’s mother Kathy photographs the team posing with their gold metals and trophy after defeating the Knights of Columbus Shock at Kinsmen Arena in Edmonton on January 23, 2010 for Edmonton Minor Hockey Week. Ice Hawks won 5-2. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Swat Ice Hawks assistant coach Bernie Ferbey congratulates Robert McKay on his two goals.
Swat Ice Hawks Nicholas Zolkavich, right, and Mathew Kennedy celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Knights of Columbus Shock 5-2 during the gold metal peewee zaozirny game at Kinsmen Arena in Edmonton on January 23, 2010. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Swat Ice Hawks Peter McKay walks away from Kinsmen Arena with his dad Peter Toth after scoring two goals and defeating the Knights of Columbus Shock during the gold metal peewee zaozirny game at Kinsmen Arena in Edmonton on January 23, 2010. Ice Hawks won 5-2. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal).
Left to right. Seneca Boisvert, 7, Kohi Bundred, 7, and Bella Rusk, 7 ice skate during Deep Freeze, A Byzantine Winter Festival at 92 St. and 118 Ave. that celebrated different cultures, foods, and music in Edmonton on January 9, 2010. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal
Our Realtor Steve Kanizaj was fantastic and helped us find the perfect house for less than asking price. The cool thing about Realtors when you are buying a house is that they don’t cost the buyer anything as the Realtor simply gets a portion of the commission on the sale. Your Realtor’s job is to find homes, arrange for viewings, make the offer and get you the lowest price possible.
Since Ashe and I were first time home buyers we had no idea what we were doing so he really helped with the paperwork and organizing everything.
Steve was very professional and fun to work for and Ashe and I highly recommend him if you are looking to buy or sell a home. You can contact him at stevek@realtyexecutives.com or call 780-709-8400
For our mortgage we used Jamie Coulter in Calgary who found us the best mortgage rate and bank for us and really made the mortgage process more personal and less “dealing with a bank” ‘ish. Again, he finds you the best rate and doesn’t cost you a thing so you can only benefit. His website is jamiecoulter.ca and you can call him at 403-835-1535. He’s in Calgary and we live in Edmonton but that didn’t matter since everything was done through e-mail/fax.
They can also refer you to good home inspectors, movers, lawyers, etc.
Referral is everything which is why I’m writing this.
As a thanks to Steve for his great work , I did head shots for his new website that he is building. Enjoy!
Stephen Kanizaj with Realty Executives Progressive poses for a photo in his home on December 20, 2009. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca
This was my second year shooting the birki and of course I took some photos the same as 
